Delhi & Agra - Home to India’s capital, and its most visited sight
Exploring the north of India and its incredible Mughal architecture.
Following my amazing time looking for snow leopards in Ladakh I wanted to explore more of “typical” India - if there is such a thing - having only been to Kerala in the southwest previously. The capital was as good a place to start as any, before completing the northern trifecta with Agra and Jaipur, as well as Ranthambore national park. The latter two will be part of another blog in the future though.
India’s Capital Region
I barely had two days to spend here, and the first lesson to learn was that New Delhi - the capital city and home to all three of India’s branches of government - is distinct from the larger National Capital Territory of Delhi with its population of 35 million people, covering only a small portion in the centre. I started my first afternoon here, with a sight that is neither related to its political nor economic status: The Agrasen Ki Baoli.
Facing the skyscrapers around the Connaught place area - New Delhi’s CBD - this three level stepwell with 104 stairs is one of the last in the region, and was probably built during the 14th century, although its origins are not fully documented. It has been used by several Bollywood movies and TV series for filming, and as such has become a popular spot for visitors.
The Governmental District
Onwards to the Secretariat building, housing most of India’s important ministries and flanking the Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace. Like many of the structures in this area it follows a kind of Neo-Mughal architecture, commonly used by the British architects in the late 19th century.
India Gate
The memorial for India’s fallen soldiers from WW1 seen from Vijay Chowk Park. There are a few more interesting sights in New Delhi, such as Mahatma Gandhi’s resting place, but I didn’t stay longer as the area was heavily closed off and it was a smoggy day due to Delhi’s notorious air pollution.
I moved on to Lodi Gardens for a quiet sunset instead. With its mosques, tombs, and bridges, the park is full of architectural beauty from the 15th century and at the same time serves as a popular recreational spot.
Humayun’s Tomb
Speaking of beautiful architecture from this period, the morning spent at Humayun’s Tomb was probably a favorite moment during my time in India. A beautiful soft sunrise, very very few people, and one of the most beautiful buildings and gardens shaping future Mughal architecture - what more to ask for?
Diagonal View
The building was one of the first to use its unique combination of red sandstone and white marble.
Interior
The symmetrical ground plan of the interior chambers with an octagonal layout seems sparse today, but was richly decorated during the past. The intricate lattice screens still make for impressive morning light patterns on the marble floors. Over 100 hundred graves are spread over the many chambers in the complex, giving it the nickname “Dormitory of the Mughals”. They ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from the early 16th century until the middle 1800s.
Gardens
The beautiful grounds surrounding the tomb are one of its defining features, with the highly symmetrical layout interspersed with bisecting water channels separating the area into a total of 32 miniature gardens. They were recreated multiple times throughout history, having been used as vegetable gardens during the decline of the Mughals, and later re-done by the British in their own preferred formal style, before being restored closer to their original layout.
Barber's Tomb
The southeastern corner is home to the only other larger structure in the complex, the occupant of which is not known due to the lack of inscriptions. It dates from the late 16h century.
Isa Khan Tomb
This octagonal tomb is situated just next to Humayun’s grounds. Although much smaller, it features equally beautiful distinct ornamentation, and is situated in India’s oldest sunken garden surrounding a tomb, which was only discovered in 2011. The same concept was later used for the Taj Mahal.
The tomb’s beautiful tiled roof details.
Isa Khan was a member of the Pashtun nobles, who fought the Mughals during their early rise. He died at the age of 95.
Sabz Burj
A cyclist passing what is though to contain the earliest surviving painted ceiling for any monument in India, just outside the above sites. Although its original construction date remains unclear, it was probably built in the early 17th century.
From here it was time to head to Old Delhi - yes, that also exists, in addition to New Delhi, the Delhi territory and the Delhi district inside it, although Old Delhi is more of an informal area in the central part of the city. The most significant place I wanted to see here was Jama Masjid, built in the middle of the 17th century by one of the most famous Mughal emperors, Shah Jahan - you’ll read his name a few more times later.
The main parts of the mosque were under renovation, but one of the minarets was open to climb on top, providing some interesting views of the Old Delhi cityscape. So densely built, flying your kite on the roof is the best option - look closely…
Meena Bazaar Street
The eastern side of the mosque with the walls of Delhi’s Red Fort in the background - also built by Shah Jahan, and a UNESCO site.
Preparations for - I think - Eid celebrations were ongoing during my visit, with this tailor preparing long white sheets which were to be used as shades across the mosque’s courtyard from what I understood.
The mosque is surrounded by the markets of Old Delhi - an attraction in and itself.
The Ringmaker
During my walk around the area I came across this vendor melting custom brass jewelry, and found the process quite intriguing. I asked him to make a ring for me and watched the elaborate steps it went through until it fit on my finger. While I insisted on paying him, he was proud of his work and would not take any money. I’m keeping it attached to a chain on my camera bag now.
A new Religion and the Lotus Temple
From Old Dehli’s mosque and markets it was time to head a bit further out towards a more modern spiritual piece, which primarily attracted me for its architecture, but also exposed me to an interesting relatively modern type of faith - the Baháʼí Houses of Worship.
The Baháʼí Faith is a relatively new spiritual movement from the 19th century, aimed at promoting unity and acceptance of all religions - any faith and belief is welcome to be practiced here. Although less than 10 million official followers adhere to its principles, its 14 temples attract visitor numbers far greater than that, primarily owing to their impressive architecture and prominent locations.
The Lotus Temple was financed by the members of the community, like all Baháʼí houses of worships. Its award winning design includes a large garden and is composed of free-standing marble-clad "petals", that surround the 9 entrances - this number is a common requirement across all Baháʼí temple designs.
Qutb Minar
My last destination in Delhi was Qutb Minar, part of the complex of the same name, built by the Ghurids who brought Islam to this region.
The minaret is more than 800 years old and another of India’s UNESCO World Heritage sites.
If you didn’t notice, it’s located on the approach path to Delhi’s international airport.
After several incidents in the last decades, the public is no longer allowed to climb up the 72.5 meters to the top, which make it the tallest minaret in the world built of bricks. The surrounding area is open for visitors though and features a number of tombs and monuments.
The crescent moon setting over Qutb Minar on my last evening in Delhi, before heading to India’s most famous sight.
Towards Agra
A mere three hour drive south-east from Delhi takes you to Agra. Once the capital of the Mughal empire for more than 100 years, it is now the fourth largest city in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Its priced historic buildings from the Mughal period are one of the city’s major attractions today, some of which you will see below.
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal remains its undisputed highlight for any visitor to India. Almost 8 million people admire its beautiful architecture each year, with 10% or so coming from abroad.
The mausoleum was built almost entirely out of white marble and commissioned by fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as final resting place for his - allegedly favorite - wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their 14th child. Its symmetrical layout, use of white marble for the main structure and red sandstone for the surrounding buildings, and the many inlay and semi-precious stone features make it one of the best examples of Mughal Indo-Islamic architecture.
Quiet Moment
A very early morning arrival (at least 30min before opening, which itself is 1 hour before sunrise) with tickets in hand already will give you a few minutes inside before the crowds arrive - from my experience, heading north-west towards the Taj Mahal Mosque instead of spending too much time near the entrance is the best option. As the sun rises from behind, you will get to enjoy this view with no one around.
Sunrise
The sun emerging over one of the smaller domes of the red brick guest house in the distance, with two of the front facing minarets of the mausoleum in the foreground. The minarets are over 40 meters tall and were built slightly tilted, so that in the case of collapse they would not fall onto the central structure.
Construction of the complex included a gateway, guest house, mosque, and walls on three sides, and took over 20 years, using over 20,000 workers and artisans. An interesting tidbit I wasn’t aware of is the design of the garden: It originally was full of vegetation, including many fruit trees, roses and other plants, before the British adapted it towards the more formal (read: boring) lawn style in place today.
The only obvious non-symmetrical part of the entire site is a rather unplanned one. Under the middle dome where Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph lies in the centre (and no photos are allowed), her husband’s resting place was later added next to her, breaking the symmetry. Their real sarcophagi lie underneath in a non-accessible basement chamber in the same arrangement.
Decorations
An example of the stone inlay work (the pattern on the top is not painted!) and relief work that cover most of the mausoleum.
In line with Islamic traditions, the majority shows Arabic calligraphy or vegetation and other abstract shapes.
One challenging part of maintaining the structure is discoloration, particularly from air and rain pollution causing the marble to adopt a yellow hue over time. To prevent this, the Indian government set up a zone with stricter emission standards around the site back in 1997. Today, cars can only go up to a certain distance to the entrance before visitors need to walk or take an electric buggy.
Aside from visiting the site itself, the garden on the opposite banks of the river Yamuna provide beautiful perspectives of the complex, often with very few tourists and a glimpse of local life happening on the shores. This photo also shows the huge sandstone platform on which the buildings were constructed.
I spent another sunrise exploring the shores of the river - this time on the western side - for more views of Taj Mahal, and was rewarded with this beautiful calm quiet atmosphere.
Sadly, just a few meters from here one of the small Yamuna tributaries flowing through Agra delivers an unbearable amount of garbage and sewage (and the stench that comes with it) to the shores, which literally stopped me from going any further, both out of disgust and concern for my health.
The Yamuna river itself suffers from heavy pollution due to sewage discharge primarily from Delhi. It is said that up to 800 million liters of largely untreated sewage enter the river each day in a very small stretch where it flows through the city. Cleanup efforts have been partly underway but not yet yielded any significant results - this is a sad sight in many places across the country unfortunately.
While the building is of course heavily visited with a hundreds of tourists arriving even before the site opens, there are quiet moments to be had if you arrive early enough, or spend time exploring the areas around the river for a different viewpoint. The beautiful architecture and incredible handiwork makes a visit (or even two) worthwhile, no doubt. But let’s take a look at what else Agra has to offer…
Agra Fort
The walled city of Agra Fort is also a UNESCO sites in the area, Taj Mahal being another, and the final one being Fatehpur Sikri, an incredible red sandstone town outside the city, which I did not visit (for now…)
Started by the Lodi Dynasty just before the arrival of the Mughal’s, the fort changed hands several times until the British arrived the early 19th century.
Prime Spot
The fort’s location on the river Yamuna gives it a prime view of Agra’s most priced sight, making it a popular photo spot.
The interior of the Musamman Burj palace inside the fort with its beautiful marble inlay and lattices. It was built by Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal - ironically he also spent the last years of his life in captivity here, held by his own son who succeeded him as the emperor.
A view of the palace from the west. Shah Jahan is said to have died here while watching the the tomb he built for his wife.
Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah
One of my favorite places in Agra was this rather small but beautiful Mughal mausoleum, often regarded as the “Baby Taj”, built by Nur Jahan for her father Mirzā Ghiyās Beg. It was completed in 1628, just a few years before its bigger brother began construction - commissioned by her stepson!
Details
Delicate jali screens of carved white marble as well as typical inlay work combined with painted patterns all over the structure make it feel more delicate and intricate, but less simple, than the Taj Mahal.
The main chamber holding the tombs of Mirza Ghiyas Beg (who was Mumtaz Mahal’s grandfather) and his wife Asmat Beghum.
The Red Taj Mahal?
Another Taj-related building I wanted to see was this one: John Hessing's Tomb. The Dutch worked for the Marathas in Agra at the turn of the 19th-century and was killed in 1803, fighting the British to defend Agra Fort. His wife commissioned the tomb in similar spirit as Shah Jahan had done for his significant other.
The monument is housed in an ancient Catholic cemetery, somehow reflecting the complex multicultural facets of the local society even before the arrival of the British. While its design incorporates common elements of Islamic tomb architecture with some references to the Taj Mahal, it is made of red sand stone and lacks a lot of the decoration.
After a last walk through the markets around my hotel, it was time to head west. That’s for another blog post, but take a look at what is maybe my favorite image of Agra below first - a lucky moment.
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Borneo - A Quest for Indonesia’s Orangutan
Exploring the jungle of Borneo in search for orangutan and spending time with the Dayak tribe.
I’m slowly but surely completing my Indonesia blogs after Java’s Volcano Heaven and the Komodo and Flores island region, and the next entry is for the island of Borneo. In fact though, the world’s third largest island is shared between three countries: while Indonesia claims the biggest portion, Malaysia also has a presence here, and almost the entire nation of Brunei (see my blog here) is situated on Borneo as well, but makes up by far the smallest area.
I arrived in the Kalimantan region, as Borneo is known in the Indonesian language, after a short flight from Semarang across the Java sea, and straight away drove to a little harbour in the city of Pangkalan Bun on the central southern coast of the huge island.
Hoping that we wouldn't encounter the same faith as this ship, I boarded my home for the next 3 days: a small boat (Klotok) that would take us along the Sekonyer river into the Tanjung Puting National Park.
Welcome to Orangutan Land
Nowhere else on earth can you find as many orangutan as on Borneo, with around 100,000 individuals left. The smaller (in size and numbers) Sumatran orangutan and a very small population in Tapanuli make up the rest of this critically endangered great ape group.
A First Glimpse
As you make your way along the river, wildlife can appear on the banks either side regularly - this is how we spotted our first Orangutan.
Your best bet to get close to of one of the four great ape genera are the four research centres the park is home to. These were established by the Leakey foundation starting in 1971 - the eponymous couple was famous for their anthropological work in Africa (see my Tanzania blog).
It’s at the first station where we docked and encountered this friendly male fellow, who was keen to pose for the camera. The park is home to many re-wildered orangutans who were in the past kept in cages in personal homes or poorly equipped zoos. These individuals are much more used to humans, and often hang around the research stations.
We spotted another in the trees eating a banana - not generally on their wild diet - that was provided to them at a feeding station near the research centre, primarily with the purpose to observe and provide for recently released individuals, such as this mother below.
Just Chillin
Generally speaking though orangutan spend most of their time in the trees - unlike Gorillas, they are arboreal.
Onwards
There aren’t really ways to get lost on the river, but in case you’re going a little fast, these signs warn you of the slow bends as the Klotok makes its way through the jungle. Luckily, my captain was in full control.
As we settled for the night tied to a tree on the shores of the river, it was time for dinner for the crew and myself.
The next morning we moved on to the second research station on the way, again encountering a number of orangutan, including some adventurous youngsters.
On the way we passed the outskirts of the few settlements in the park, with traditional housing and access by boat. The park is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but still threatened by illegal poaching, logging and mining. It’s home to over 100,000 people in total.
We then arrived at the end of the publicly accessible river section, where the original Leakey center was established. This is where Birute Galdikas conducted most of her work, becoming the most well-known orangutan scientist in the world. Together with Jane Goodall (who studied Chimpanzees) and Dian Fossey (Gorillas were her focus) they became the three women educating the world about the great apes and fighting for their conservation. Take a look at my Uganda and Rwanda blogs for some more information.
The Long Noses
Orangutans aren’t the only wildlife you will find in the park though. Although much of the species here are rarely spotted by visitors (clouded leopard or sun bears for example - oh how I wish to see one of these!), one of its endemic inhabitants are more easily found: The Proboscis monkey.
Characterized by their long noses, particularly the leading male in the group, such as the one on the left, they are endangered and their population is threatened by habitat loss. I have been lucky to see them both in the Kalimantan and during my trip to be Brunei.
Although Proboscis monkeys are known to be excellent swimmers, they are generally arboreal and sometimes even jump from tree to tree or to the shoreline to cross rivers, and avoid predators such as crocodiles.
White-Bearded Gibbon (maybe)
Another primate species found in Tanjung Puting is the white-bearded gibbon, endemic to the area as well. There are multiple different Gibbon species present in Borneo, and admittedly I’m not 100% sure that I identified this one correctly - we only spotted it for a minute before it used its long arms to swing from tree to tree back into the thicket of the jungle.
The Big Boy
This guy was a little easier to identify. One of the largest males in the area around the Leakey research station, I got lucky to observe him showing up at the feeding station in the afternoon.
What a character. Some males grow much larger than others, developing huge cheek pads that give them the characteristic round head shape. Their arms can reach up to 1.5m in length and their body can weigh in excess of 100kg.
Although generally arboreal, Orangutans such as this elderly fellow sometimes spend time on the ground, possibly because there are no large terrestrial predators to threaten them in this region.
Sleeping Spot
After this it was time to head back to the mouth of the river - we spent our last night just outside the park boundaries, allowing me to capture this aerial view.
Glow Worms
As the night settled over the Sekonyer river, fireflies came to life in some of the trees.
Towards the West Kalimantan
I wanted to explore a little more of Borneo and its culture, other than just see Pangkalan Bun and the national park, so decided to make my way westwards on a 300km drive towards the boundary of the central and western Kalimantan districts. Given the size of the island (twice the area of Germany, and including mountains up to 4000m high), that was still only going to cover a very small part of it.
A large portion of this drive gives you an impression of what Borneo has sadly become famous for, and one of the primary reason its wildlife has been suffering over the last decades: Palm oil plantations. As far as your eyes can see, to the extent it has been described as “ecocide”. More than half of its rainforest has been lost in less than half a century. As the cheapest type of vegetable oil, demand has grown for decades and Indonesia and Malaysia together make up 90% of the supply. Its communities had little benefit - large companies based elsewhere own or lease and extract the value of the land with limited control, rampant corruption, and pressure on the local population - this was clearly evident in many of the conversations I had. That is, if people were willing to talk about it. Having said that, it’s easy to criticize the situation, but the vast majority of the production is exported to the rest of the world, where it is gladly consumed, and there are very few alternatives that deliver a similar yield, see here for an interesting article.
Time with the Dayak People
One of the indigenous ethnic groups on the island are the so-called Dayak tribes - in fact, they are a diverse group with multiple languages and religions, but the umbrella term was applied universally during the colonial past. They do share a number of common characteristics (one of them the feared practice of headhunting or Ngayau - now abandoned). I spent three days in a remote village of about 100 people in their company, being the first tourist they have had for almost 1 year.
Long House
One of the common features of the Dayak villages is the stilted so-called long house (up to 200m!), sometimes still used as accommodation for multiple households, but today serving more of a traditional architectural and administrative function. It is visible on the centre left edge of the village in this aerial image.
Guarded
The long house is traditionally protected by a cat. Just kidding - this one just happened to chill on the porch.
Batu Batongkat (Stick Stone Monument)
Another of the interesting cultural aspects is this sight: although I could not fully discern its purpose, from what I understood it is a way to support nature.
Either way, the view from the top of the stone monument is beautiful, and the tribe owns much of the land, cultivating it in sustainable ways for generations - so far refraining from taking part in the palm oil industry and representing one of the strongholds against its complete takeover.
5 Star Bird Hotel
One rather unexpected commercial activity in this remote location is this concrete nesting structure meant to lure in swiftlets, whose saliva-built nests fetch high prices in China. They come with attached speakers imitating the bird’s call, and are often owned by people from the larger cities, paying locals to go around and maintain them (and protect their contents, as this is an industry where theft and sabotage seem not uncommon).
Universal Language
An observation I made during all my travels, even to the most remote places such as this one (there is no cell service here, power is by generator, water comes from the nearby river), is the power of football as a sport for the world. It’s always a way to get people interacting, and of course I couldn’t resist and joined in.
Theft concerns?
My hunch is that this is not really a problem here, given how this motorbike was secured to the house.
The People of Kubung Village
Over the three days I had the chance to get acquainted with a few of the people in the village (although none of them spoke any English), and was able to take some unscripted portraits.
The Last Dance
On my last evening I was asked to join the “Bagondang” or “Horn Bill Dance” ceremony, where the local dayak people blessed me and another father and his daughter visiting a nearby village with a welcome ritual ceremony called “ikat akar tongang”. They also provided me with a sacred Dayak bracelet for good blessing during the trip.
The ceremony involved the elder of the village attaching the bracelet, and the recipient drinking a rather large glass of home-made alcohol under the clapping and music of the villagers (who encourage you to finish it in one go), followed by dancing. There is footage of me undergoing these entire proceedings, which shall not be shared here.
Relics
While their day to day attire is fairly westernized, once a year the tribe brings out their traditional masks for dances and rituals.
It was a really enjoyable time here, and the local villager I stayed with still sends me photo updates on WhatsApp from time to time (although he doesn’t speak English, so I can’t always make out what he’s trying to convey with the pictures 😉).
I’m curious to see what happens to Borneo over the next decades, with Indonesia having recently announced to move its capital from Jakarta to the island. The new city called Nusantara is going to be located on the south-eastern coast, and construction began in 2022, with about 12,000 government officials expected to move in by the end of 2024.
I might be back to see it - Indonesia remains one of my favorite countries for its incredible sights and diversity.
